May5, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Armed Services Committee Chairman
Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released the statement below
following a hearing before the Committee to examine
the progress in Afghanistan under President
Obama’s new strategy:

“I am so proud of the brave
men and women in uniform who are risking their lives every
day to keep our nation safe, and I was very pleased to hear
the witnesses at today’s hearing talk about the signs
of success we have seen from our warfighters in Afghanistan
under President Obama. For too many years, this
conflict—which is critical to our nation’s
security—was the Forgotten War. It was very
reassuring today to hear confirmation of the continued
progress we are seeing under the President’s new
counterinsurgency strategy as we continue to fix the
dramatic shortfalls of the previous administration.

“President Obama has tripled
the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and has given us,
for the first time since the start of the war nearly a
decade ago, a real strategy for success. Our military
leaders and commanders on the ground have strongly endorsed
the President’s plan, and we continue to see an
increase in gains made against the insurgency, including
the most significant captures to date of Taliban
leaders.

“We will continue to closely
monitor the progress in Afghanistan under the new
counterinsurgency strategy to make sure that our troops
have all of the resources they need to bring us success and
return home quickly.”